President Donald Trump took to the podium on Thursday and declared, “That sucker is open,” referring to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that links the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea. The comment came after the US Central Command announced that naval teams had successfully neutralised a series of sea mines that Iran had reportedly laid in the internationally recognised shipping lanes earlier this month. The mines were part of Tehran’s broader intimidation campaign amid heightened tensions over the Israel‑Hamas war, during which Iran threatened to close the strait if Israel proceeded with a ground invasion of Gaza.
According to the US Navy, the clearance operation involved mine‑hunting vessels and explosive ordnance disposal teams who swept the channel over a two‑day period. Following the operation, commercial vessels began to return, with the maritime traffic monitoring agency reporting that roughly 20 to 30 oil tankers are now transiting the strait each night. While this marks a clear improvement over the near‑standstill that followed the mine deployment, analysts note that the current flow is still well below the pre‑war average of 60‑70 tankers per night, indicating lingering caution among shippers.
The resurgence of traffic has been welcomed by oil markets, which had seen price spikes as the strait’s closure threatened to choke off roughly a fifth of the world’s daily oil supply. However, officials from both the United States and the United Kingdom warned that the situation remains volatile and that any further escalation by Iran could quickly reverse the gains made by the clearance operation.
